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Here's our regional eco friendliness score as of this morning:

We did it! 

Actually, upon rereading it I've found that my original post might have been insufficient for painting a picture of the town itself outside of Síne's limited perspective. I was confused because the topic-starting post was originally like 2.5x the length and had a lot of in-depth discussion on Ceadaichte Mòir. I apologise for pointing you toward a source that doesn't actually give you the information that you were asking for :c

Ceadaichte Mòir is, as far as we've revealed, a low-tech farming village more or less in-line with the real world early medieval era. There's very little contact with the outside world, let alone the country's capital (Coxarif), and the village is self-sufficient in terms of their needs. Seasonal traders come a few times per year (I originally imagined twice, but I suppose coming at the beginning of spring/summer/fall also could work) to trade luxuries like paper, candles, books, and the like for surplus crops and other valuables, but that's usually it. The people are friendly, but wary of outsiders, and generally disinterested in things that are outside of their purview.

I originally imagined that Síne would discover some minor magical ability once she was travelling through the forest, a capability that never would have surfaced in her hometown, because there was no need for it nor method in place for coaxing it out. Because 99% of people are only interested in farming and are barely literate (though Síne is quite proud of having attained 100% literacy), they never push to be anything more.

I had originally imagined Ceadaichte Mòir as being in the northwestern reaches of Ustendelle, but I wouldn't want your character to have to walk up an entire country so I have no problem with it being near the southern border. But the winters are very rough and the lands are bleak once you travel too far from the forest. The village survives on logging (since every tree in Kingfisher that gets cut down regrows within a month or so) and farming, but they can only farm hardy vegetables and livestock that can survive the colder climate and harder ground.

I originally had established all of the vegetables that they grew, the livestock they raised, the local geography including peat bogs and where the nearest water sources were, all the way to the style of how their houses were built, but that was way way way overboard

You could always read the first couple posts of the rp you're posting in  the first post of an rp is intended to be the world setup.

Is Ceadaichte Mòir the village where Cathal and Riza and the rest are?

Yes 

Rabbits
Rooks
Rhinoceros...es
Raccoons
Rats

Name five songs everyone here should listen to.

Name your five favourite books

The Black Company: Books of the North
Book of the New Sun
Dragonlance: Twins Saga
At the Mountains of Madness
The Haunter in the Dark

Name five of your least favourite foods.

Granted, you can never land again.

I wish I had chocolate.

And there's your roommate :P

"It's really just a blight upon the family name is all, to be placed in-"

The door to Arélana's dorm room swung open, and behind it came a waifish young woman carrying a box of belongings. She was tall, approximately 177cm, and much too thin for that height. Black hair hung over her right shoulder in a loosely-contained ponytail, framing a thin face with a small, pointed chin. Her eyes were dark as well, and mirrored a sort of exasperation that could only come with years of dealing with something problematic.

The man who came in behind her was even taller, with sharp, judgemental eyes and a severe air of class. He carried nothing but disdain, spread evenly as he sneered over the room. "-a cell."

The woman surveyed the room, noticed the things on Arélana's side, and quietly sat her box down on the opposite bed before straightening her clothing. She was wearing a simple white, hip-length blouse under  a black jacket that only reached her waist. A long black skirt extended from beneath the blouse to her stylish but clearly meant for comfort flats. She gave a calm, warm smile to her new roommate before holding out her hand. "Hello, I'm Serana Vuthlari. You must be Arélana."

The man would hardly let the other girl's response escape before beginning to dress down the entire establishment, even as two men dressed like servants came into the room carrying even more boxes and sitting them atop the bed Serana gestured to and leaving just as quickly. "Look at the size of it. There's not even any space to study! You really must have some standards. " He scoffed.

"I apologise for him," Serana would continue to Arélana. "This is Ythel. He's always like this, but I promise he means well."

"Like hell I do. Come now, it isn't too late. We can pay any fee to keep you from being required to house up with... people." Somehow, that last word was delivered with enough dripping scorn that a Disney supervillain would blush. He quickly stopped when she turned on him. "That's quite enough. You're being rude to my roommate now and I cannot allow that. Do you have anything more to contribute?"

"No," he said with a harrumph, straightening his tie and leaving. "I do not."

Serana followed him out into the hallway, "Ythel."

He turned, only managing to get out half of a "What is-" before she had wrapped her arms around him for a hug. They stood there quietly for a few seconds before she spoke again. "Thank you."

She knew what all of this was. Ythel was mean, sometimes even cruel to others, but it all came from a heart of gold deep within him, one that cared deeply for his younger sister, even if he could never admit it. He'd always been there for her, pushing away the things that he thought would hurt her in the end and watching over her when he thought she wasn't looking. He wasn't always right, but he cared. Serana let him go before giving him the smile she knew he craved. "You're my favourite brother."

He scoffed, but placed his hand on her head, trying to hide a smile. She had never referred to him as her brother before, at least in her memory. "I'm your only brother. Have fun with your new palace, Serana."

Ythel was already a few steps away before Serana realised what had happened. He had always given her insults instead of calling her by name. "Hey-" she began to call out, but he merely waved over his shoulder. Stifling a smile of her own, she re-entered the room and closed the door behind her. "I'm so sorry."

She crossed to the trunk she'd brought in, from which she pulled a small, framed picture of Faye and sat it on her study desk, then a small laptop to take a place next to it.

Welcome back friend

🎶  This old warship has wounds and
It won't sail for nothin'
An old sailor said to me 🎶

The sleepy mid-day silence was broken by a muted hum heralding the passing of a small electric car zipping over a lakeside road. The titular lake was a large, unbroken mirror reflecting the upper-class housing on the far side and the sky above it, pure and placid and unfettered by the stress and depression of its beholder. Would that she could take some of that tranquility for herself, but that wasn't to be today.

It was the earliest day she could move into the dorms at CTU, and her mother had strongly recommended it. Her car couldn't fit most of her belongings, so she only had a small trunk in the passenger seat, but as soon as her mother was off patrol, she'd be bringing the rest in the family car. Her radio, louder than the car itself, projected across the nature trails and parks of this area the deepest feelings of sadness and portrayal that she could manifest.

🎶 And I was foolish not to listen
And paid such close conscription
All the lies I believed 🎶

She made a right turn onto the road that would lead her to the school. The family home was a few streets back from the lake, cheaper to own than the bougie-ass "lakeside estates" but still within walking distance of all her favourite trails. Fortunately it also wasn't too far away from the campus, so if she needed to she could go back home and spend some time with her mother. The roads here were nice, larger than the lakeside district but still retaining some of that feeling. Some of the trees were already being wrapped in fairy lights, which would later during the holidays travel further along the trees, crossing over the road entirely.

Through the open windows, she could smell the fresh air. It had a slight bite to it, but it was hardly more than light jacket weather - if even that. The sky was overcast but not threatening rain, just a pleasant day overall.

And she hated it.

🎶 "but if you lend me some more labour
And put your name on paper
We just might catch a breeze" 🎶

She began driving through the campus itself, a meticulously-manicured series of gardens and ancient trees, around which aesthetically-pleasing buildings popped up seemingly at random. The controlled chaos of the campus was supposed to promote higher thinking, creativity, and introspection. But it sure made driving a bitch. She wound around roundabouts and down different one-way corridors before finally arriving at the back parking lot of her dorm, pulling into a spot next to a charging station and-

🎶 I know now he was not a captain
Now because of all my actions
I grow alone with- 🎶

-turning it off.

She got out of the Renault Twizy (she had demanded an electric car and her mother found the cheapest one on the market) and stretched, looking at the building in front of her. Pretty standard, though there were already some open windows and flags covering others. Impressive that people were moving in so quickly... though she supposed it had been accepting move-ins since early that morning. Regardless. She slid her phone in her pocket after plugging in her headphones, then placed them over her ears and grabbed her trunk from the passenger seat. Better get to it. The entry room was fairly standard for a dorm, but had the unfortunate addition of an incredibly chipper looking RA at the front desk.

"Ooh," she said, "another redhead, I can already tell we're going to be friends. What's your name so we can get you to your room and you can sit that big ol' trunk down?" In response, the girl leveraged the trunk against her belt, holding in place with one arm as she pulled her student identification card out from her back pocket and flashed it at the woman.

"Arylle Harutyunyan. Harutyunyan? Am I saying that right? Anyway, I'm Quetzal. So nice to meet you! Looks like yoooooooou're..." the other girl looked down at her clipboard, flipped a page, then smiled, holding up a key. "Aha, here it is. You're in room A104, just down this hallway. Congrats on getting a first-floor room, that's so lucky, especially in your first year!"

Hardly. Rylle followed her down the hallway, where Quetzal stopped and used the key to open a door. "You have a roommate, but she hasn't arrived yet. If there are any problems, just let me know, my room is at the end of this hall, next to the common room. Do you have any questions?"

Rylle shook her head.

"Alright Arylle, I'll put this key on this table right by the door aaaaaand... welcome to Clock Town University!" Quetzal beamed before walking back to the foyer to greet whatever next unlucky student happened to walk through. For her part, Rylle entered the room, pushing the door shut behind her with her foot, and sat her trunk down with a relieved sigh. Finally. She took the opportunity to look herself up and down in the mirror, just in case anything had become dishevelled. Her Bikini Kill shirt just needed a little smoothing, but the black jeans with shredded knees and her converse were totally fine. She adjusted her glasses before pulling out her phone and starting to play music by which to unpack.

🎶 Once there was an old ocean
Where anyone who saw it
Grew old with the sea 🎶

((I will get a post with Lana's roommate up soon, I promise. I'm waiting on someone to give me something their character would do before I fill out that post and I should get that response soon.))

Granted but now you see the tearjerking injustice and tragedy of onions being sliced with a knife every time you do so.

I wish I could just have this comfortable feeling forever.

Sur-rup seems weird to me. Is it a southern thing? Would lyric be pronounced lur-ric?

From what I can see, it's a sort of 50/50 thing even within the same communities. It came up during work yesterday, where half of us said "sur-rup" and the other half said "sugar is a conspiracy \o/". The same conversation brought up "caramel" vs "carmel".

[Yup Rizzo! Wait would ya?]

Rizali tried to appear nonchalant as he walked back toward his quarters. Depending on the strength of the tracking this time, he might not be able to sleep, let alone read the book; the ritual could take between one and seven hours depending on how strong it needed to be. But at the same time, he didn't need to perform the ritual tonight... he could put it off a couple more days before it started to get dangerous. After all, he hadn't even known about the ritual for a month the first time it was happening. Would it be better to read the book? He was an academic, he'd spent so many nights reading instead of sleeping, what was one more, even now?

For that matter, why not start right now? He flipped past the dedications to the first page of the actual text and began reading while walking. The tone and voice were distinct, but Rizali could already tell it would be dry reading. But probably not any more dry than textbooks on ancient enchanting techniques- so many "begats" in those tomes, even before you could get to the information on actual magical theory. The mage shook his head, then redoubled his efforts to read more, just in time for "Yup Rizzo! Wait would ya?"

Rizali shut the book and held it close, then rose his head. He stopped moving so Cathal could catch up, then listened as the boy continued. "I have a letter here, I don't know how my parents found where I am, but they did. I just got this from my da. They want me back in An Clár to fight a war for Corcaigh, just to scare Luimneach and impress the rest of Thomond and bloody Éire!? He can feck off, I have this gig here, I'm not bothered to fight a war for a county that I was only just fighting against a few years back. But I thought you might be interested. I have this map if you want to see it."

He nodded along, wondering if he sounded so highly energetic when he spoke on something he was excited about. When the boy was done, he took a breath. "Alright slow down, Cancun, what are you talking about and why would I want to- wait, you're from Éire?" That was an interesting development. Éire was a country quite far to the north of Ustendelle, separated by such distance that even in a large and multi-cultural city like Coxarif, one almost never, if ever, saw someone from there. He reached out and took the map, looking at it. Fascinating, a political overlay map for a country that wasn't Ustendelle or his own. He continued, "I'll take the map, but I can't imagine why I should be invested in the political particulars of a country thousands of kilometres away from Ustendelle. Anyway, no, we're passing through Kingfisher as soon as I can get everyone together. Why would I want to put that off?"

To his credit, Cathal seemed upset. Angry, perhaps. His back up, he responded "Because there's a bloody war going down right now. It'll be anarchy, and there'll be nothing left to return to after we cross this stupid forest."

Rizali calmly rolled the map and held it under one arm before looking up at Cathal. A dark glint appeared in his eye as he spoke, in a tone much less animated or playful than any he had used since coming to this village. "Kid, I think you've misunderstood this mission, I don't plan on returning to Ustendelle." He couldn't, in fact. He'd left The Inverted Spire on a mission, and if he failed in that mission, he wouldn't be able to face the other mages anyway.

"If I'm correct, and I'm almost never wrong, the land beyond this forest is a better life for all of us. None of us have a place left on this side of the forest. And," here came the biggest risk in the strategy he was laying out, "It sounds like you don't either."

Rizali began walking again, leaving Cathal behind. He steeled himself before saying over his shoulder, reintroducing the same playfulness to his tone that he'd carried when they'd spoken before, "or won't, anyway. Think about it, Cathal."

"Suit yourself," came the response, the fiery annoyance of the young. Rizali remembered being that age, with all the righteous outrage and injustice of older than you telling you what was what, feeling like you weren't being taken seriously and that your ideas were falling on deaf ears just because of the years you had been alive. He'd tried to avoid coming across quite as condescendingly as his teachers had, back then. He'd tried that with decades of teaching young students, but it was difficult being on this side of that divide.

He hoped that Cathal would still be there when they were ready to leave. The boy was bright and energetic and more of a chatterbox than Kaegan or Lyndh. Rizali would need someone like that to pass the time while they spent however long it would take walking through the trees. It would be a much more exciting trip, the more people that came along. But for now he feared Cathal wouldn't be able to hear those words. He was angry and had just left home, maybe for the first time, and still had those emotional ties to that place and to his family. Those connections were always raw immediately following the separation.

Rizali reached Eoin's home, knocking before he let himself in. He was greeted warmly by the mayor's wife before announcing he'd be retiring for the night. When offered some food, he graciously declined, saying he had a lot of work to catch up on and waving the book. Such lovely food and lovely gestures would just make him sleepy right now. He smiled as he entered the guest room: a lovely woman she was, all kindness and warmth. The world could use more of those.

Granted, but you produce an incredible stench every time your skin comes off.

I wish I had an idea for what I should write.

Sorry if I missed this on my first read through, as I'm at work, but does Arelana have a roommate? If not I've got someone in mind.

Thank

I agree 1000%. For all your worrying, Cas, you crafted a really interesting and compelling post! You're amazing ^-^

 

I did it

If it helps, Ceadichte Mòir is a lumber society that exists because if you cut down a tree in Kingfisher Forest, it's back the next day.